Bands to Watch: Charlotte OC

At the age of five, Charlotte O’Connor (known by her stage name Charlotte OC) began playing music and started to write her own songs ten years later.

Hailing from Blackburn in Lancashire, the singer-songwriter was surrounded by folk and soul music from an early age, with Alicia Keys, Leonard Cohen and Lou Reed listed among her major influences.

In her late teens, Charlotte OC suffered from the unfortunate reality of the music industry, having been signed and later dropped by the Columbia record label.

Despite the setback, it didn’t damage her confidence and she returned in October 2013 with the release of “Colour My Heart” on Stranger Records (most famously associated with Lana Del Rey). An EP of the same name was launched a month later.

To coincide with the launch of the Colour My Heart extended play, the singer-songwriter released ‘Hangover’ as a single – a track which was produced as a result of the artist turning up to the studio with (yes, you guessed it) a hangover. The EP led to Charlotte OC being heavily “tipped for success in 2014” by both the BBC and Digital Spy.

Throughout 2014, Charlotte OC made a number of festival appearances, including a set on the BBC Introducing stage at T in the Park in July, in support of her latest EP “Strange” (released on Polydor). The extended play, which was highly praised by fans and critics alike, contains four pop ballads, each of which draws on Charlotte OC’s experiences of love and heartbreak.

The future is certainly looking bright for 23-year-old Charlotte OC, and she is without doubt one to look out for in 2015. The year begins with her supporting The Temper Trap during two special dates in Australia, as well as a scheduled appearance at SXSW 2015 in March.